Park City leaders have retained a Colorado firm for the recruitment to find the next top staffer at the Marsac Building.
Colorado Springs-based Columbia ltd is tasked with the search for a city manager to succeed Matt Dias, who recently left the municipal government for the private sector.
City Hall agreed to pay $27,000 for the recruitment services. Mayor Nann Worel and the Park City Council received a written update about the recruitment in anticipation of a meeting that was held on Thursday.
The update outlines that the finalist firms each recommended the period for applications stretch until Dec. 1, at the earliest, based on the Park City election in November. The timeline would allow “candidates to apply with full knowledge of the election outcome,” the update says. The mayor’s office and two seats on the City Council are on the ballot. The next mayor, who will be sworn into office in early January, will select a city manager.
Columbia ltd performed the recruitment for the Summit County manager in 2022 and has worked with other mountain resorts, including the Colorado communities of Aspen, Telluride and Steamboat Springs.
“I have completed nearly 130 successful executive recruitments in Colorado, Utah, and the western United States in the last 8.5-plus years, with a specialty in the niche of mountain and resort communities,” Drew Gorgey, the CEO and founder of the firm, wrote in a one-page letter to the elected officials as the proposal was submitted.
The Columbia ltd materials describe a philosophy holding “that citizens are the ultimate client in every executive recruitment we perform, so that in addition to our value-based, mission-driven approach, we are always aware of the public service underlying our professional services.”
Some of the steps in the recruitment process, as outlined by Columbia ltd, include:
- A meeting held in Park City. The work may include interviews between the firm and the elected officials on a one-on-one basis. There will also be a meeting for the leadership team at the municipal government.
- The period of active recruitment lasting approximately six weeks. The active recruitment will involve national marketing and the “targeted direct mailing of Candidate Profile to approximately 350-450 qualified candidates.” The active recruitment will also have Columbia ltd “serve as Park City’s agent as to all interested persons and prospective candidates.”
- The recommendation of candidates, over two weeks and involving a meeting in Park City with the recruiter. The step will include the briefing of Park City officials “on search and Recommended Candidates in executive session.”
Finalist interviews, with another meeting in the community, and the last steps of the recruitment would follow the recommendation.
The selection of a city manager will be an early and important decision by the next mayor. The contest for Park City’s top political office pits City Councilor Ryan Dickey against Jack Rubin, who brings a business background to the campaign. The two candidates will almost certainly address the upcoming city manager selection as one of the campaign issues in the coming weeks.